Elections

2011

Lussow announced on May 18 that he would run against DemocratJim Holperin if a campaign to recall the current incumbent senator is approved.[2] About 23,000 signatures to recall Holperin were filed on April 21, 2011. Signatures have been filed against nine different state senators in Wisconsin. A total of 16 were originally targeted for recall.[3]

Lussow is not a member of the Republican Party, according to the Republican Party of Lincoln County Chair, Bob Rajek.[1]

I'm in this because I'm tired of the negligence, the posturing, and the pussyfooting around the real issues faced by our communities. Put another way, I'm done with the dishonesty, disingenuousness, and outright disregard for the people of this district and this state.

Debates

The debate was held at Tomahawk High School, with the majority of talks covering education. Lussow supported the new collective bargaining law but voiced his opposition to the cuts to education in the recently-passed state budget. Meanwhile, Holperin defended his actions in fleeing the state during the collective bargaining bill negotiations.

Roughly 100 people were in attendance at the debate. However, Kim Simac did not attend. “For whatever reason, she decided to decline," Lussow said. Kimac posted on her facebook page that she was unable to attend because she is running her horse camp and cannot commit to events during a two-week period.[7]

Currently no further debates are planned, though there have been discussions of scheduling more.[6]

Documents

Ads relating to the campaign

Certification challenge delays

On May 27, 2011, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board announced it would be unable to consider the recall petitions for the three Democratic incumbents at the May 31, 2011 meeting. Citing "numerous factual and legal issues," the Board said in its statement that more time is needed to ensure that a complete record will be available for examination -- particularly since the decision will likely be appealed to the courts.[10]

In its release, the GAB officials said they do not expect to be able to hold a hearing on the recalls of Democratic incumbents until the week of June 6. This raises potential legal issues, as the initial extension granted to GAB for certification required it to ultimately make determinations before June 3.[10]

The GAB filed a brief on June 1 asking the court for a one-week extension, which would give them until June 10 to finish working on the three Democratic recalls. The case was heard in Dane County Court at 1:30 pm on Friday, June 3.[12][13]Dane CountyJudge John Markson ruled that there was good cause for the extension, and that the GAB did not violate any rules by taking up the petitions out of order.[14]